Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter #1)
Summary:
Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a Cloak of Invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny cupboard under the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in ten years.
But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him... if Harry can survive the encounter. (Summary and book cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
How does one write a review the Harry Potter series? It’s impossible, but I’ll still give it a shot because something would be missing without a HP review. Also, this is one of the books in the Reading Challenge so I need to do my due diligence.
I read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” on my ninth birthday when it was first released in the US and no one had heard about this fantastic book. I remember reading the book in one or two compulsive sittings, but was then disappointed there were not any additional books in the series. Two years later the Harry Potter craze was starting up and I dug the story off of the book shelf, reread it and then read the next two books that were out. Now that there were more books in the series, I got into it.
Part of what makes the Harry Potter series magical to me is it seems almost everyone gets into them and enjoys reading them. For the first time, my friends had read the same books as me and wanted to talk about them. Previously being a bookworm, no one had read most of the books I had and therefore had different tastes. Harry Potter was the original “nerdy/geeky can be cool”. Read it so that you can be part of the conversation.
The Harry Potter books should be read as a series, but if you only read one this is it. The Sorcerer’s Stone establishes the magic and is the “origin story” for all the rest to follow. Don’t just read the movies, read the books! Or listen to the audiobook, they’re fantastic and have won two Grammy awards. (Great for road trips!)
Rating: 5 stars!
Who should read it? Everyone. This is such a solid series and relevant to popular culture, I think everyone needs to give them a shot.
Want to read the whole series?